Rutgers overcomes slow start to stop Temple

October 21, 2012|Reuters

The Sports Xchange

NCAAF Team Report - Rutgers - INSIDE SLANT

For 30 minutes, it looked like Rutgers was in trouble. On the road against a Temple team that has snuck up on the Big East so far in 2012, the Scarlet Knights trailed 10-0 at halftime and looked like a team playing with the parking brake on.

Coach Kyle Flood said he didn't have anything extraordinary to say to his team during intermission. No chairs were thrown or chalkboards broken. But whatever he did, the Scarlet Knights were a different team after that, scoring five touchdowns and cruising to a 35-10 win.

A big key was the ability of the defense to hold down the fort despite the sluggish offense doing it no favors. It forced a fumble on a fourth-and-one on Temple's first drive and held the Owls scoreless on a Gary Nova fumble at the Rutgers 44, or the hole could have been a lot worse at the break.

The offense came through after the break. Gary Nova completed 12 of his 18 passes in the second half, four of which went for touchdowns. The defense even got to cap off the scoring with a Khaseem Greene fumble return in the fourth quarter.

That moved the Scarlet Knights to 4-0 in the Big East, and Kyle Flood's team will be the clubhouse leader for nearly a month before taking the field in league play again. The Scarlet Knights next host Kent State, go on its second bye of the season, and play another nonconference game against Army before next taking the field in Big East play at Cincinnati on Nov. 17.

Depending on how the rest of the leagues shake out, it could be a Top 10-ranked team by the time it faces the Bearcats -- assuming it doesn't have many other stretches like it did in the first half against Temple.

-----------------------------------------------

NCAAF Team Report - Rutgers - NOTES, QUOTES

WHAT'S AHEAD: Rutgers moves out of the Big East and takes on Kent State this Saturday. But while the Golden Flashes may not play in a big league, they aren't a team that can be taken lightly. They're 6-1 overall, 4-0 in the MAC, with their only loss coming to Kentucky in September.

--Rutgers overwhelmed Temple in the third quarter, taking the lead with 21 unanswered points. That's nothing new for the Scarlet Knights, who have outscored opponents 69-3 in the third quarter thus far in 2012.

--Stop me if you've heard this one, but Rutgers blocked a kick in the victory over Temple. This one, Leonte Carroo's first career blocked punt, was the 28th blocked kicking attempt for Rutgers since 2009, the most in college football over that period.

--Rutgers still hasn't allowed an opposing running back to gain 100 yards this season, though Temple's Montel Harris had 50 at the half. However, the Owls did finish with 119 yards on the ground to become the first opponent to break the century mark. On a positive side, it took the Owls 42 carries to do so.

KEEP AN EYE ON: Nick Borgese handled the kicking duties for the second week in a row thanks to Kyle Federico's injury. He was perfect on six extra point attempts, but Kyle Flood didn't have him attempt a field goal.

LOOKING GOOD: The Rutgers offense came alive in the second half, with Gary Nova playing perhaps his most effective 30 minutes of the season. Though the defense did allow Temple more than 100 rushing yards, it largely stifled the Owls running game and kept Temple from gaining momentum until its offense got on track.

STILL NEEDS WORK: This is the second time in 2012 that Rutgers has fallen into a 10-0 hole on the road (it also did so against Arkansas). That's probably something the coaching staff wants to address before the team travels to Cincinnati on Nov. 17.

QUOTE TO NOTE: I think this was a good learning lesson for us. When you're ranked as high as we are, everyone is going to come out with their best punch. But we took it and we responded." -- Cornerback Logan Ryan told the Newark Star-Ledger.

-----------------------------------------------

NCAAF Team Report - Rutgers - STRATEGY AND PERSONNEL

PLAYER NOTES:

--RB Jawan Jamison got fewer carries than usual, picking up 114 yards on just 19 carries. But he bade up for some of that through the air, catching a career-high five passes for 81 yards. As a result, he led the Scarlet Knights in both rushing and receiving.

--LB Khaseem Greene is having a huge senior season after a 2011 that saw him share the Big East Defensive Player of the Year honors, but his fumble return against Temple was his first defensive touchdown since high school.

--WR Mark Harrison caught the 16th touchdown pass of his career in the victory over Temple. That moves him into a tie with Tiquan Underwood, Marco Battaglia and Tres Moses for the fourth place on the Rutgers all-time list.

ROSTER REPORT

--K Kyle Federico was again on the sidelines with a hip injury. He's week-to-week.

--S Duron Harvey was named one of 12 FBS finalists for the Senior CLASS Award. CLASS, an acronym for Celebrating Loyalty and Achievement for Staying in School, is given to one senior every year who excels in the community, classroom, character and competition.